Here's some good news for the gym monsters among you: women are "predisposed to prefer muscularity in men", according to researchers at UCLA.
The team's report, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, suggests "muscles in men are akin to elaborate tail feathers in male peacocks" which "attract females looking …

Not a weedy geek but...

I'm a fairly burly bloke, not ashamed of it, I also have a ponch but alas non of us are perfect. Now take into consideration that most men that spend a lot of time in the gym are generally already insecure enough about their own body image to want to change it, it is more than a theory that these men would lie about the number of sexual partners they've had. The same also applies to men who dress up in adoration of the clothes worn by men in Lynx adverts (see the original pulse ad).

Insecurity is one of the largest personality disorders in men, men are generally put in competitive situations where if they aren't successful this adds to an inferiority complex, which as I have found on nights out in the town I live leads to insecurities so great they end up brawling in the streets like 5yr old boys who don't know how to fight.

Thankfully when I left my home town it wasn't like that, I hold that memory quite dear as my home town is one of the only places in england I've found where the general population of men don't want or need to try and turn themselves into a folk hero as a result of their growing complex.

Personally I think the best way to attract women is to show them you're strong in other ways, strength of character, opinion and courage of their own ambitions and convictions are far more important to women in general.

So let me get this right....

It's about body shape, not muscles

Er, bollocks. A silhouette will tell you naff all about muscles, and more about body shape. Things like broad shoulders and height are far more effective than muscles in attracting women.

Yes, exercising will help your body shape, but it's constrained by your skeleton and that can't be changed.

Also, as has been mentioned above and in numerous studies, fitness is not an indicator of sexual success. The best that could be said is that it might be true for some male undergraduates at UCLA, nothing else. Another crap study, from a crap university.

Other sub-cultures

Only THREE!?!

"twice as likely to have had more than three sex partners than less-built types"

Jesus, did they interview 14 year olds? I'm tall but I'm certainly not muscled or even particularly good looking and even I shot past the '3' mark without even slowing down. If the buff, good looking guys are impressed by having more than three girls then all the weedy lads must be virgins?! I thought that 'frat parties' were meant to be packed full of drunken white girls, surely even the fat kid can get some...

US body fascists?

Is this more true in the US than here, perhaps? This study has, presumably, only covered American women, who I imagine have a different idea of what is attractive than, say, French, or Australian, or Japanese etc.

So all I can see here is that Americans are obsessed with the muscular form. Whether that's a human thing or not is still unproven.

Why?

Maybe it's only the male dominated IT geek set that reads El Reg - but the most interesting thing about all of these comments is that where the names have been added there appears to be only 1 (possibly 2 if George is short for Georgina, Chris is not short for Christine in my case) poster using a female name.

Funny how the women-folk have pretty much stayed schtum on the matter.

But psychology is broken

Cos everyone's told every day by the Idiot lantern (TV) that hunky guys are gorgeous the psychology aspect of it all is surely broken as everyone's been marketeered and brainwashed. Just the same way as everyone's told that a scrawny 12-year-old shaped body is beatiful on a female. Which it isn't.

Then people wonder why there's so much child pr0n and associated activites 'going around'...

Personal experience

From watching friends, and from personal experience, I can attest that attitude is far more important. from honest, actual feedback from several women, (albeit in the 18-25 range) including one I am now engaged to, it seems that many women aren't fond of six-packs and rippling ab muscles, at least in a relationship. Why?

One, they aren't as fond of the look as they are of a simply smooth, toned stomach. Second, a little fat on your abdomen is healthier- having 4% body fat is actually considered to be a dangerous, so as long as it's not to a point of being morbidly obese. Third, they like the feel more. While having rock solid abs is impressive to them, and demonstrates a certain level of physical fitness they like, they want some fat there so that if they're cuddling or laying their head there they have some cushioning between them and the steel that is the well developed muscle. Fourth, having an incredibly cut, muscle bound physique means that you have to spend a fair bit of time maintaining that look. Do you really think they want a long term relationship with someone that's going to have to devote time to that process, in addition to the time they have to devote to work, and time for whatever else they do, and lose the time that they may spend with their significant others, or, down the line, kids?

And no, these opinions have not been given to me because I'm insecure about my current build. I'm one of the group that has rock hard, but slightly covered, abs. If I tense it, you can actually see the muscle defining itself past the fat. However, I've been told (by my fiance' and several good female friends (not that sort, you dirty minded people)) that I am, under no circumstances, to deliberately try to lose that fat.